If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. [1 Corinthians 13:1 (CSB)]
During his second missionary journey, Paul spent 18-months establishing the church in Corinth before returning to Jerusalem. In 53 AD, he set off on his third mission and ended up in Ephesus. Upon receiving disturbing reports of immorality among Corinthian believers, Paul wrote to them. After a delegation from Corinth arrived with a letter containing a series of questions for him and another group visited the evangelist with reports of divisiveness in Corinth’s church, Paul replied to them with the letter we know as 1 Corinthians. Although Paul’s epistle was written to correct such things as errors in doctrine, divisiveness within the church, a sectarian spirit, and sexual immorality, this rebuke to a troubled church has one of the most beautiful chapters in the Bible: 1 Corinthians 13.
When unpacking Paul’s figurative language, it’s likely that the tongues of men to which he referred were the supposedly wise and multilingual tongues of the Sanhedrin, the supreme judicial and administrative council of the Jews. Said to be men of distinction and wisdom, its members were to be conversant in the seventy known languages of man so that interpreters weren’t needed in court. As for angels’ tongues, angels are ministering spirits and have no need for tongues; nevertheless, they must communicate in a wonderful angelic language. Moreover, when they took on flesh and appeared to man as God’s messengers, they were inspiring and eloquent in their speech.
The loud sound of bronze was familiar in 1st century Corinth and gongs and cymbals were used in public processions, celebrations, theatrical performances, and both pagan and Jewish rituals. The word translated as clanging, alalazon, comes from alalai, meaning a battle cry, and the harsh reverberating sounds from loud gongs and cymbals were as attention-grabbing as any call to war! Nevertheless, the spectacular noise of gongs and cymbals soon fades leaving nothing of substance in its wake. Paul’s mention of cymbals may have been a wonderful play on words. The Greek word for cymbals is kumbalon and the writers of his day often used kumbalon to refer to a boastful, foolish orator.
In other words, Paul is saying that even if someone speaks with great wisdom, in every language known to man, and as magnificently and eloquently as an angel, if their words don’t come from a heart of love, they would be meaningless. Although heard, they would be nothing but sound without substance—a splendid but worthless performance!
Because the Apostle’s words in this chapter are often read at weddings, we miss some of his original meaning. Having just written about spiritual gifts in the previous chapter, Paul was writing about the necessity of love when using those gifts. Translated as love or charity, Paul used the word agape, which has nothing to do with attraction, romance, or emotion; agape doesn’t stem from natural affection. Originating in God, agape is an authentic, sacrificial, selfless, and unconditional love for all. Displayed perfectly in Jesus, this unrestricted, unrestrained, and unconditional love is implanted in believers by the Holy Spirit.
Paul’s words to a troubled church are as important and relevant today as they were back in 55 AD. They apply any of the gifts of the Spirit—whether communication, wisdom, teaching, faith, leadership, serving, giving, or something else. When the gifts of the Spirit are used without agape/love, they are worthless. As Warren Wiersbe said in his commentary on this chapter, “Spiritual gifts, no matter how exciting and wonderful, are useless and even destructive if they are not ministered in love.”
People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care. [Theodore Roosevelt]
Devotions of the Heart 